I find this amazing because there has been offence taken to a prop. A prop people! A synthetic piece of rubber or foam or whatever the hell it was made of! It’s not the fact that the head was impaled in the first place, but because it resembled a former president. Come on, seriously. If that’s reason enough to condemn the creators of a show, then no show that contains violence, practically decapitations should ever be made again.

I sooo see the likeness there.

Imagine the precedent this sets: I’m sitting in the local theatre in Edinburgh on holiday with my girlfriend watching a film set in the medieval times. Pretty good battle scene, unreal sound effects, even better popcorn. Suddenly the dust settles and the leader of the winning army raises the severed head of a slain opponent. The head looks like that of, let’s say, Marty Willson-Piper.

Hmm, it’s popcorn you say? I couldn’t tell

Now, I’m going to guess that a few of you are sitting there going ‘who’s that?’ Marty Willson-Piper, or MWP, is the lead guitarist and backing (occasionally lead) vocalist for Australian band The Church. He is one of my idols and I have been lucky enough to meet him. When I see this on the big screen, am I then allowed to jump up from my seat and cry foul? And at the resemblance of MWP, not the fact that there was a decapitation?

MWP on a Church album cover

Over the years there have been numerous decapitations and all of them have resembled someone, not necessarily someone famous or a household name, but someone like you or me. Are we allowed to freeze shipments of the movie out to the masses? No. Would we even be offered to have it edited out before being sold? I doubt it.

This raises an interesting few thoughts though, at least I think anyway. If only people who are in power, or formerly were, are allowed to get upset at production companies, then if I was the maker of a TV show or movie and I really didn’t like the maker of my main competitor (Packed To The Rafters and Tricky Business for example. Not that shows like these would ever have decapitations, although it would boost the ratings out of sight. But you get my point), then I would use a prop that looked like that maker just for shits and giggles. Let’s be honest, unless you are directly involved with these shows, or know the people personally, do we really know the people who do all the behind the scenes stuff? No, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron don’t count, everybody knows them.

I just want you to think about these things. It really is ridiculous isn’t it? People are always going to get mistaken for someone else. I’ve even been mistaken for a Harry Potter look-a-like before. As well as Peter Parker. And just the other week, the boss at work said that I bore a striking resemblance to Clark Kent. I kid you not. So with this being the case, am I allowed to sue the producers of these movies every time said characters get hurt and injured because they look like me?